View full sizeMark Duncan, Associated PressJeanmar Gomez was one of the best pitchers throughout the Cactus League season, and clearly earned his spot in the Indians' starting rotation.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The training complex stood silent and mostly empty at the foot of the Estrellas Mountains on Monday evening. The mountains were streaked in shadows and light from a setting sun that sent long lines of orange, yellow and blue across an endless sky.

A beautiful sight to be sure, if anyone was around to see it.

But the Indians were long gone. After seven weeks of non-stop activity, spring training was over and the big-league club was headed east. They played an exhibition game in Zebulon, N.C., on Tuesday and then continued on to Cleveland for a Wednesday workout at Progressive Field in preparation for Thursday's season opener against Toronto.

There can be no turning back now. The season, good or bad, has been set in motion.

The Indians started spring training on Feb. 20 with pitchers and catchers reporting. That's 43 days of nothing but baseball, but in actuality it was longer. Players such as Jeanmar Gomez came to Goodyear in late January to begin training. For Gomez the extra work was worth it because he won a job in the rotation as the fifth starter.

Spring training is about finding out such things. The answers aren't always permanent. They might not last until April 15, but the process has begun.

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Here's a list of what the Indians did and didn't get done this spring. First the list of accomplishments by GM Chris Antonetti and manager Manny Acta:

• Fifth starter: Gomez had one of the best springs of any pitcher in the Cactus League. His slider has improved and he looks much more confident.

• Starting pitching depth: Kevin Slowey, Zach McAllister and Scott Barnes pitched decently in camp. So did David Huff, until he strained his right hamstring. They will be available at Class AAA Columbus when a move has to be made.

• Veteran presence: Derek Lowe, 38, had a solid spring. He's 38 and coming off a 17-loss season with Atlanta, but gave every indication that he should be a useful part of the rotation.

• Third base: Jack Hannahan was the easy winner over Lonnie Chisenhall in the competition for the hot corner. It's good for Hannahan, but if the Indians are going to make any noise this year in the AL Central, Chisenhall must get his swing together so he can contribute.

View full sizeMark Duncan, Associated PressShelley Duncan offers right-handed power to the Indians' lefty-leaning lineup, but can he hold onto a full-time job -- or is the front office still looking for more outfield help?

• Left field: Shelley Duncan showed power and determination in winning the job out of the sea of contenders in camp. It's clear, however, that the Indians are not satisfied and are still looking for an upgrade. Rumors connecting them with Bobby Abreu and Vladimir Guerrero didn't happen by accident.

• Multiyear deal: The Indians haven't confirmed it, but they have signed shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to a two-year contract extension through 2014. When camp started, the Indians didn't have one player signed for guaranteed money past 2012.

• Utility men: Jason Donald and Jose Lopez won the two utility infielder jobs. They hit right-handed and should balance the predominately left-handed starting lineup.

• Bullpen: Closer Chris Perez's strained left oblique cost him most of spring training, but he pitched well late in camp. He was unable to pitch on consecutive days before the start of the season and that's a concern. If the Indians have two or three straight save situations early in the season, Vinnie Pestano will give Perez a break.

The rest of the pen offers stability grounded in success with Joe Smith, Rafael Perez and Tony Sipp. Dan Wheeler and Jairo Asencio are the newcomers.

• Outfield: Michael Brantley moved from left to center without a problem following Grady Sizemore's back surgery. Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was unhappy with his stats coming out of camp, but fully recovered physically and mentally from a disappointing 2011 season.

• Pronk power: Travis Hafner, in the final year of his contract, had his best spring in memory. He was one of the few players who hit from the start to the finish of camp.

Now for the things that didn't get accomplished.

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain DealerThe gamble of signing Grady Sizemore resulted in back surgery in March and uncertainty as to when the veteran outfielder can return to a lineup that was largely ineffective in Arizona.

• Offense: This is still a glaring weakness. Acta and Antonetti said the poor performance this spring was partly due to shuttling so many players in and out of the lineup in an attempt to find a left fielder. It certainly didn't help that most of the candidates fell on their face offensively, but the problems run deeper.

Until the end of camp, they showed no ability to put walks and hits together to generate rallies and big innings. As for team speed, forget it. They were successful in 54 percent (14 of 26) of their stolen base attempts. A team has to be successful 70 to 75 percent of time for steals to be positive part of an offense.

• No shows: Just wondering if Carlos Santana and Cabrera brought their bats to camp. They didn't hit much at all. For this offense to be effective, Santana, Cabrera, Jason Kipnis, Brantley and Choo must become its focal points.

• Ubaldo Jimenez: The Indians wanted to concentrate on fixing Jimenez's mechanics this spring. Jimenez went 1-4 with a 7.43 ERA in seven starts. How do you think that worked?

He capped off a troubling spring by hitting Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki with a pitch on Sunday and getting suspended for five games Monday. He needs to find the strike zone with his fastball and live there or this is going to be a long year.

• Sizemore factor: The Indians took a $5 million gamble on re-signing Sizemore and so far it hasn't worked. They tried to prepare for the eventuality of injury, but when he went down with back surgery on March 1, the depth they acquired during the winter proved useless.

Who knows how effective Sizemore will be if and when he returns? The fact that another setback by a player with his injury history could have such a profound effect on the offense shows just how poorly the Indians have drafted and developed outfielders over the last several years.

• 7-22-3: Yes, spring training won-loss records don't count, but for the Indians to finish the Cactus League with that record is embarrassing and worrisome. The coaching staff and management can brush it aside, but this team doesn't have the kind of talent that allows it to flip an internal switch to magically raise its level of play come Thursday.

If a switch was going to be flipped, it needed to be done a lot sooner than Thursday.

In this corner: Here are the pitching matchups for the Indians vs.Toronto series that begins Thursday with the season opener at Progressive Field:

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